Equipment for major NPC's...

[Ruavel]

sorry if this has been posted 20 or 30 times before...

what do you feel is the best way to equip a major NPC...?

do you use the PC 'starting above 1st level' table on page 43 of the DMG or the NPC gear table on page 58...? or some other means of determining a balanced equipment spread for your major NPC's (whether good or evil)...?

I'd like comments from other GM's on this issue...

 

[Wolf72]

there's also a table that gives gp for NPC's ... it is significantly less though, so it's a major NPC you might want to use the PC gp column ... (it's at the end of the NPC stat blocks ... p58 DMG)



[ps: moved my books so they're in a shelf next to my computer, life is much easier when you can just scoot over and grab a needed text!]

 

[Kyramus]

I run my NPC's under two categories.

NPC that are expendable and NOT plot driven. Use the lower gp table.

NPC that has a plot line attached to it, or more. Create as if it were a PC. Use the PC table.

That gives different NPC's of the same level different equipment.

IE. 10th level wiz that is with a group of marauders would be using the lower gp table, UNLESS he's not part of the marauders but part of a bigger menace and when the fighting starts, he casts a spell or two before teleporting to report to his superiors that the trap is set, the pc's ar occupied, we can all go and hit the city now. hehehehe (then he would have equipment equal to a PC).

 

[Drawmack]

for a major NPC I simply balance them to the party in a manor that fits the campaign.

For example if the party is going to fight another party then the NPC party will probably have characters of similar levels and classes with similar gear to my PCs.

On the other hand if the NPC is not supposed to be fought I will, one way or another, make it not a good idea to fight them. I can to this by having them be so much more powerful then the PCs that the PCs wouldn't even consider it or I can make them the head of a guild or something so that they have access to enough minions to make the PCs life a living hell for the next couple of years.